Ibrahim Magu, the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has charged Nigerian artistes and comedians to join the anti-graft agency in the fight against corruption, particularly internet fraud.
“You have a very wide reach, so lend us your voices, please let your works propagate and promote integrity and the right values,” he said passionately.
Magu gave the charge on Wednesday during an interactive session with artists, comedians and On-Air-Personalities (OAP), which held at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja.
“I urge you to raise a collective slogan against all forms of criminality among our youths, condemn in strong terms, ostentatious living without credible sources of income, particularly the get-rich-at-all-cost syndrome among the youths,” he said.
Stressing the important status, which the Commission attaches to members of Nigeria’s entertainment industry, Magu called on them to “join hands with the EFCC in this fight against corruption, because we need you more than ever before to change the negative narratives about our country being havens of internet fraudsters”.
According to him, the EFCC was ready to collaborate with the creative industry in every way possible, with the sole aim of combating the menace of internet fraud and all other forms of economic and financial crimes.
He said: “I have always stressed that we cannot claim to have the monopoly of knowledge of how to fight corruption at the EFCC.
“We are however, driven by the passion to explore all frontiers that will enable us achieve a better society for our children yet unborn – an egalitarian society and one which we all can be proud of.”
He noted that the engagement with the members of the creative and entertainment industry, was out of great concern about the increasing cases of “yahoo-yahoo” among Nigerian youths, and in the belief that Nigeria’s creative minds was critical to curbing the ugly trend, which has given Nigeria a bad image.
“Let’s find a way to reduce or stop our teeming youths from engaging in internet fraud,” he said.
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